A Matter of Trust
by Eleantris
Summary: "But sometimes," he murmured, tilting his head ever so slightly to one side, eyes never straying from her hazel ones, "It's not a matter of 'ow long you've known someone, it's about how well yer know them... It's a matter of trust, Bolly."


_**Wow, look at this – a Galex oneshot from me. I haven't written one of these in a while! But I was watching episode 7 of series 2 earlier today, and the ending of that episode always feels unfinished, so I decided to write my version of what happens next. Hope you enjoy it, and please review!**_

_**X =D**_

_**Disclaimer – I don't own Ashes to Ashes, but I might just have to steal Gene Hunt for my own *ahem* personal use... :P **_

_**A Matter of Trust**_

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><p>"To you an' me, Bolly... You and me." He clinked his glass together with hers, and Alex lifted her eyes from the swirling red wine inside to look at him properly. The pain of Chris' betrayal churned in the stormy depths of his gaze, clouded by a drunken haze and desperation for something that she couldn't quite put her finger on. She lifted her own glass to her lips and they drank in silence, neither moving to sit down.<p>

"Why not me?" Alex eventually asked, her quiet voice gently breaking the silence. Gene snapped his head up from staring down into the confines of his glass to look at her, a question in his expression. "You gave them all a number to keep secret," she explained. "But not me."

Knocking back what little was left in his glass and putting it down firmly on her coffee table, Gene lifted his gaze back to meet hers and said simply, "Because I didn't think it could be you."

The flicker of a frown crossed her face as she eyed him over the rim of her glass. "Why not? It could have easily been me, but you never even suspected that I could have been the one passing on information... Why?"

There was silence for a few more moments. They were both locked in each other's gaze; Alex's eyes were questioning, expectant – waiting for him to say what she so desperately needed to hear. And his were stormy as ever, a turbulent mix of grey, blue and green, seeming to look right through to her soul. He took a small step forwards, drawing closer to her. "Why didn't I think it could be you?" He stepped forwards again, and didn't miss Alex's quiet, but sharp intake of breath at his close proximity. "Because, Bols," he murmured, reaching to gently take the wine glass from her. "I trust you."

Butterflies had taken up acrobatics in her stomach, and she trembled slightly under the intensity of his gaze. Swallowing, Alex tried to slow her breathing, tried to ignore the heat she could feel spreading across her face, tried to ignore how close he was, how easy it would be just to... But try as she might, she couldn't force her shallow, tensed breathing to ease, couldn't slow the almost erratic rise and fall of her chest. Gene's words had affected her more than he could ever realise. He trusted her. Gene Hunt, the man with solid walls around everything, _trusted her_. And that... That meant more to Alex than he could ever imagine.

As though afraid his piercing gaze might open up her thoughts to him, Alex's eyes flickered downwards as she swallowed again, and looked back up. "But... Viv and Shaz, I can half understand, but if you trusted me enough not to test, why not trust Chris and Ray too? You've known them a lot longer than you've known me."

"I know, Bols." Fully aware of how his close proximity was affecting her, Gene leant slightly to the side to put her wine glass down next to his, and when he moved back, he was even closer than before. Her face was mere inches away from his, their chests very almost touching. The dim lighting cast shadows across both their faces, and there was hesitancy, but a buried desire, in each expression. "But sometimes," he murmured, tilting his head ever so slightly to one side, eyes never straying from her hazel ones, "It's not a matter of 'ow long you've known someone, it's about how _well_ yer know them... It's a matter of trust, Bolly."

Somehow, and neither of them was sure when, his left hand had come up to rest lightly on her waist, his fingers splayed over her hip. And now he brought his right hand up towards her face, Alex only barely registering what was happening as he rested it against her jaw line, cupping her cheek with a tenderness she had never thought he could possess. Each breath in was broken now, and it felt like her whole body was trembling in longing. She longed to lean into his hand, longed to meet his lips with hers; longed to say everything she had wanted to say ever since... Well, ever since she had arrived. A low fire had spread through her stomach, quelling the butterflies, and now all she felt was desire. Lust for this man who had made such an impression on her since her arrival in this world, a desperate longing for closeness, a burning desire for him. Just _him_, and everything he was.

"G-Gene..." Her voice came out a breathy whisper, and her gaze dipped down to his lips, then back up to meet his again.

His thumb was gently caressing her cheek, and now Alex could identify what it was she had seen in the depths of his gaze earlier. It had been a desperation for something, and she could see now that the something was her. It had been desperation for her, for _this_.

"We're good, you an' me, Bols, aren't we?" he murmured, his low voice almost husky with desire. "A good team... 'Cause we trust each other, Bolly."

Her nod was barely imperceptible, and she took another shaky breath in, her head inclining slightly to lean into his hand. "Please, Gene..."

The way the desperate moan escaped her lips, coupled with the look of smouldering desire in her eyes almost had Gene crashing his mouth to hers there and then. But he didn't. She tilted her head further towards him, so that their noses brushed slightly and their lips hovered, mere centimetres from each other.

"We need this," she whispered, warm breath caressing his jaw. And then, he kissed her.

She tasted of red wine and desire, chocolate and lust, and Gene couldn't get enough. Their lips moved together gently at first, perfectly in harmony with each other, warmth and glorious flavours melting together in one searing kiss – each savouring a small moment of perfect heaven. And then, he heard her moan.

It was a wanton, desperate moan for more, and with demanding fingers Alex fisted his shirt in her hand and pulled him closer, tongue pressing against his insistently before it became a battle of needs and wants. Fire raged in the kiss and before both of their eyes as Gene tangled his fingers in her hair, bit down almost viciously on her bottom lip and wrapped an arm around her waist, anchoring her to him. For nights, they had both lost themselves in dreams like this, and now it was finally happening. If it hadn't felt so real, if his taste hadn't been so heady on her tongue, if her moans hadn't sent his blood rushing south so quickly, they would have both been convinced they were merely dreaming again.

But this was no dream, no wild, desperate fantasy, Gene thought as he held her close in his arms and they fell to the sofa, a tangled image of wandering hands and hot, desire filled kisses. This wasn't a schoolboy daydream, or some hooker he tried to imagine was her... This was Alex Drake, and she was more than he had ever dreamed she could be.

"G-Gene," Alex gasped as their lips finally broke apart, only for him to direct his ministrations elsewhere. Her heart-rate was erratic, her breathing irregular as he sucked hard on her pulse point, swirling his tongue over the red mark he had left afterwards. "I-I need... Need..."

He stopped to look at her face, and if most of his blood hadn't headed south already, the sight of her flushed cheeks, mussed hair and swollen lips was enough to send the rest of it there in one mass exodus. Gene had no idea how he had resisted doing this for so long. "What, Bols?" he breathed, hands pulling her dressing gown open and slipping under the silk shirt of her pyjamas. "Tell me what you need."

An intoxicated, blissful smile spread across Alex's face as she reached up to curl a hand around his neck, bringing him back closer to her. "I need you to take me to bed, Mr Hunt," she murmured, still breathless, but her eyes were alight with a seductive sparkle Gene had only seen glimmers of before.

"You sure?" He had to know, had to know she wouldn't wake up and regret this in the morning.

Alex nodded, suggestively running the tip of her tongue along her lower lip. "I'm sure," she told him, pulling his lips down to meet hers again. "I trust you."

No more needed saying. Capturing her lips again in a burning, searing kiss, filled with passion and heat and desire, Gene gathered her into his arms and carried her through to the bedroom, dropping her unceremoniously onto the bed before looming over her to kiss her again. Her hands pulled the buttons of his shirt apart with fervent haste as his own fingers made light work of ridding her of the pyjama bottoms and top.

Staring down at her, hardly able to believe his luck, Gene grinned and moulded his lips against hers again, drunk on the taste of her, addicted to the heat of her skin beneath his hands. "You're gorgeous, Bolly. I ever tell yer that?"

She smiled against his lips, her hands roaming over the plains of his broad chest. "You're not so bad yourself, Mr Hunt..."

"Mhmm..." He lost himself in trailing kisses down her neck, nipping her collarbone with his teeth and smoothing over the marks as he went. "Like it when you call me that..."

Alex laughed, throwing her head back with a gasp when he bit harder into her flesh. "Oh you do, do you? What about _sir_? You are my boss after all... _Sir..._"

The almost lion-like growl came from deep within his chest as he bit down harder into the bare skin of her shoulder and Alex writhed beneath him, head thrown backwards, indecipherable pleas for more coming from her in gasps of pleasure.

Forgetting the pain of Chris' betrayal, escaping the cloud of gloom hanging over CID, Gene and Alex lost themselves in each other that night, clinging to each other, gasping and screaming for more, never letting go. They didn't know that in just twenty-four hours, they would be torn apart, a wedge driven between them. They weren't to know that very soon, a bullet would be lodged in Alex's gut, marking her flawless skin, and that Gene would stand over her as she bled out onto the concrete, a smoking gun in his hand...

It was all a matter of trust, he had said. They weren't to know that that trust, which had brought them together, was soon to be broken.

Operation Rose was coming.

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**X =D**


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